Coming Undone
by Crowfeather's Dream
Summary: Rusty met Tigerclaw in the woods instead of Graypaw, and he has led Tigerclaw into believing he is a rogue instead of a kittypet. The dark warrior takes Rusty in, and corrupts his mind, until he could never be confused as an icon of light.
1. Fallen Hero

**Ha Ha, I can tell I'm going to be having a lot of fun with this. What if Rusty decided to go into the forest a little earlier than he did in the books? What if he ran into Tigerclaw instead of Graypaw? The allegiances are the same in this story as the ones in Into the Wild. **

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_Fallen Hero_

A light rain was falling.

A flap in a door rattled softly as a young ginger tom squeezed his way into his garden. He glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping house and sauntered over to where an old wooden fence marked the borders of his garden. An old, bent nail stuck out the frame, rusty and sharp. The tom stepped up to it and slid it under his collar. With a loud ringing, he jerked his head back, and the collar, the mark of his slavery, fell to the ground. He sneered and made to leap onto the fence, but a flash of white caught his eye.

In a heartbeat, Rusty was on the intruder, digging his sharp claws into the soft flanks of his neighbor, Smudge. The kitten let out a pitiful wail and scrabbled away, under the fence and into his own garden. Rusty stalked forward and thrust his face through the fence.

"Who do you think you are?" he spat coldly.

"My owners forgot to feed me tonight," Smudge replied, his black and white body trembling. "I…I was wondering if…if perhaps you could spare…?" His voice trailed off.

"No," Rusty snarled. "It's not my problem your stupid humans are so forgetful that they can't even take care of their only pet. Besides," he swished his tail. "If you're so hungry, why can't you just go kill a mouse, or something?"

"Kill?" Smudge echoed.

"Would you like me to spell it out for you? When my owners are away, they leave me with those dry, tasteless pellets, and they expect me to eat that. However," his voice became smug, "they have not realized I know how to rid myself of that treacherous bell."

"So you kill poor, defenseless mice?" The kitten seemed shocked.

"So what? They're mice." When Smudge continued to look puzzled, Rusty gave up. "Look, kit, if you're hungry and you can't bring yourself to kill a worthless mouse, go to that fat old tabby who lives next to you, not to me. If you so much as place one paw in _my _garden again, don't expect to be let off so easy." With that, Rusty turned, sprang over the fence, and vanished into the forest.

Smudge turned away. His flanks stung from Rusty's unforgiving claws, and he licked his wounds a few times before creeping into the yard on the other side of his house. The cat who lived here, known by Rusty as "the fat tabby", was Henry. Henry was old and kind, and would most likely share his food with Smudge.

The kitten arrived at the back door and scratched at it a few times. _Rusty used to be such a nice playmate, _he thought sadly as Henry's flat face appeared in a window. _But ever since he met that Tigerclaw, he's changed._

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Rusty strode confidently through the forest which, not too long ago, had seemed to cold and forbidding. He remembered how Smudge would tell him stories about the vicious wildcats who lived in the woods, and almost laughed out loud. Though Smudge was only a few days younger than him, Rusty felt moons older than the naïve kittypet, now that he had been exposed to the wild. But Smudge had been right about one thing. There were wildcats here, and they held no compassion for kittypets.

Kittypet! The term scorched Rusty's fur, making his lip curl into a sneer. Forest cats saw kittypets, or house cats, as weak playthings of the humans. He dugs his claws into the ground angrily. If they truly believed this, once they laid eyes on him, he would prove every last one of them wrong!

"Greetings, Flame."

Rusty whirled around. _Flame._ The name was his alter ego, the name that had so easily tumbled from his mouth when he had first met this impressive tom, who believed he was a rogue from the city. As the dark tabby padded out from the shadows, Rusty lowered his head with respect, though his green eyes still held the amber gaze of his mentor and newfound father-figure.

"Good evening, Tigerclaw."

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**Yes, it is short. And before anyone asks, I won't be making the chapters longer anytime soon. My confidence with my writing has been slipping as of late, and started writing this story to improve. But depending on how many reviews I get, this may just be a one-shot. I'm glad you decided to read my story, but, come on, it's not that hard to post a review. It takes about 30 seconds to hit the button, type "Good job" or "Needs a little work", and press submit. Reviews, even negative ones, boost my happiness and make me write faster, so I think _FIVE _reviews (at least) isn't too much to ask of anyone. Hit that button, baby! -Reddy**


	2. Terrible Truths

**Ah, it's been forever! I'm sorry it took me so long to bring this to you. So far, freshman year has been a lot of work.**

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Tigerclaw stretched his huge jaws open in a yawn as he watched his young apprentice stalk through the woods. He frowned as the sound of breaking branches and rustling leaves reached his ears, and shook his head in disdain. Though Flame was strong and swift, he needed to be taught how to move silently. With that thought, he crept out from under a yew bush, which had been his hiding place, to make himself known to the younger tom.

"Greetings, Flame," he rumbled softly. He watched, amused, as the ginger tom spun about with wide green eyes.

"Good evening, Tigerclaw," he meowed, dipping his head. Tigerclaw felt a surge of excitement at Flame's automatic submission to him. Even though he was respected by apprentices and younger warriors in ThunderClan, something about having the respect of a rogue drove his mind wild. If he could drive an outlaw, a cat who lived without the Code on his side, into reverence of him, why not the rest of ThunderClan?

"It had been a half-moon," the tom interrupted his thoughts. "You were supposed to meet me here a week ago." To any other, his tone would have been that of indifferent, but Tigerclaw could here the impatience and disappointment in Flame's voice. Tigerclaw bowed his head and extended a paw.

"Forgive me, my apprentice," he meowed. "I was busy with…plans."

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At the mention of 'plans', Rusty jerked his head up, his eyes filled with wonder.

"What plans?" he asked curiously. Tigerclaw looked down on him, a passionate light beginning to creep into his amber stare.

"Do you really wish to know?"

"Of course! I mean, yes, Tigerclaw."

"Very well."

_Redtail was a proud, arrogant tom. He was Tigerclaw's brother, and Tigerclaw had hated him the moment he had set eyes on him as a kit. Redtail had always wanted to put his brother down, and always seemed to be better at everything. Even things Redtail could not best his brother in, he somehow managed to mess up Tigerclaw's success._

_For their apprentice assessment, the all-important test that decided whether or not an apprentice could become a warrior, Redtail had not done perfectly, but good enough. He knew Tigerclaw was a better hunter than he was, so he deliberately stepped on a twig while Tigerclaw stalking a rabbit. Tigerclaw's mentor thought Tigerclaw had made the slip-up, and decided to keep Tigerclaw from becoming a warrior for another moon._

Rusty gasped. "That's terrible!" he spat.

Tigerclaw closed his eyes. "You can't imagine the humiliation," he whispered quietly. "Coming back with your proud brother, facing the expectant, excited stares of your Clanmates. Being held back from your warrior ceremony is a very rare occurrence, usually saved for the injured or hopeless." His lip began to curl.

_After Tigerclaw had become a warrior, their deputy, Frostflower, was killed in a battle. To Tigerclaw's great disdain, Bluestar chose Redtail, who was barely older than an apprentice, to be her right-hand. Redtail made life miserable for Tigerclaw, forcing him onto two or three patrols daily, and then, when a Gathering came about, he would tell Bluestar that Tigerclaw was too tired to attend. When coming back from a Gathering, Redtail would gleefully tell Tigerclaw that many thought he had died as an apprentice._

Tigerclaw opened his eyes again, which were bright with sadness.

"All I ever wanted to do was to become a great warrior for ThunderClan," he said softly. "But as long as Redtail is around, that won't happen any time soon."

Rusty leaned forward, licking his lips in anticipation. "So what are you going to do?" he asked. He knew what the answer was going to be, and he could feel excitement raging through him.

Tigerclaw smirked at his eagerness. "I think I'm going to kill him. And you are going to help. That is, if you want to."

The ginger tom grinned. "Of course."

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**So, Tigerclaw wasn't born evil now, was he? How ironic that he was shaped by Redtail. It came back and really bit him though, didn't it? Thank you to all of my reviewers and, if you have time, check out my other fic "Mate Swap". It's a lot more humorous than this story, and I think you'll enjoy it.**


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